which mig welder to buy

[andrew.searston]

hi everyone
im looking to buy a gas mig welder from machine mart
whats the best one to go for to weld bodywork????
are the gas/gasless clarke dual purpose ones any good??
i dont what to spend more than £300

[bmcecosse]

Gas gives the best welds - but you do have to buy gas...... Some do a 'deal' with local Pub Landlord for CO2 cylinders at low cost. Otherwise - the proper Argoshield gas is expensive from BOC........

[Alec]

Hello BMCE,

"the proper Argoshield gas is expensive from BOC...."

But by all accounts does a much better job? Another source of CO2 is licensed trade distributors, most reasonable sized towns have them.

Alec

[kennatt]

that welder will be perfectly adequet for diy car body repairs,and you can use gassless outside when its windy,go for it,I've got the same one ,no point in paying more unless you are a pro fabricator.

[Alec]

Hello Andrew,

further to my earlier reply, I copied this from this site :- http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
Note the test is on car gauge steel and, if you are new to welding, would make your learning process easier.

CO2 vs Argon/CO2 Mix (0.8mm to 1.2mm steel)

CO2 doesn't maintain an arc as well as Argon Mix. On low voltages (probably the lowest couple of settings on most MIG welders) the wire will tend to ball on top of the surface and not penetrate the metal. The arc doesn't appear to start until the wire has touched the work, and it extinguishes as the wire burns back resulting in the 'weld' being made in a series of pops and spatters that the photo doesn't do justice to. Wire speed setting or technique do not appear to influence the effect. Simply CO2 does not work on low voltage settings.

BOC Argoshield Light was used in weld on the right which was smooth and consistent to lay. The Argon content is necessary to maintain the arc at low voltage. The photo is 0.8mm steel and the welds were completed with a Portamig 181 on it's lowest setting.

Alec

[bmcecosse]

Argoshield IS the correct gas to use - which is why i refer to it as 'the CORRECT Argoshield' earlier. But is is SO expensive to have a BOC account and pay rent on cylinders and delivery charges etc etc... So you either need to befriend someone/a business that has an account and will give you access to gas through them - or make do with something rather less good..

[Alec]

Hello BMCE,

yes it's definitely more expensive. I don't know what a CO2 cylinder costs nor do I have a BOC price list to hand.

I would guess about £70 P\A for rental of a smallish cylinder and about £50 for the fill with delivery cost (which you pay even though you collect the cylinder). The one thing I notice is that most of these sort of queries come from someone who is unused to welding so is having to learn, it's up to them to decide if the easier (and better) welding is worth the extra cost.
I must say I've seen some pictures on various forums of some poor attemps at MIG welding.

Alec

[bmcecosse]

I have a cylinder of Argon (pure - not Argoshield which has 2% H2) and it works reasonably well - the inferior quality of my welding is all down to my own failings........ I 'hope' my previous employer will co-operate when I need to refill the bottle. I have considered making CO2 - with chalk and HCl...... After all - it only needs a couple of PSI to wash over the weld pool.......